English settlers disembarked from their ships in 1607 at an
inland spot along the James River, marking a chunk of land as a
prime location for a fortified settlement. Over the next few
years, several boats would arrive, bearing hundreds of settlers
to what would be called Jamestown.

But times were rough; during a six-month period in 1609 known as
the "starving time," nearly 250 people died at Jamestown. At
least some of the
inhabitants resorted to cannibalism, according to a 2013
study by the same researchers.

Founding fathers

In 2013, Owsley and his colleagues first unearthed the bodies,
near the historic
Jamestown church where Captain John
Smith married Pocahontas. Two of the bodies were in fairly
ornate, anthropomorphic coffins, though the bodies were poorly
preserved.

To identify the men, the archaeologists combined genealogical and
historical documents from both England and the colonies, along
with artifacts and analyses of the chemicals in the skeletons.
For instance, the elite often had higher levels of lead in their
bones during this time, because they frequently used
lead-containing pewter and lead-glazed ceramics for eating and
drinking, Owsley said.

"These are high-status individuals, two of them particularly so,"
Owsley told Live Science.

One of the men was Ferdinando Weyman, who died in 1610 at around
age 34. He was the uncle of Sir Thomas West, the governor of
Virginia. Weyman was also related to another of the men
identified, Captain William West. This man perished in 1610 after
a fight with the Powhatan Indians. His body was identified thanks
to a partly decayed, dirt-covered military sash that was found
with the skeleton. The sash, still inside a block of dirt, was
placed in a computed tomography (CT) scanner, which revealed a
silk cloth decorated with silver fringe. [ Photos:
Time Capsule from 1795 Reveals Piece of American History ]

Both West and Weyman were buried in human-shaped coffins with a
distinctive pattern of nails. Weyman had higher lead levels in
his bones than the other individuals, indicating his elite
status.

Another of the newly identified men was Captain Gabriel Archer,
who died during the starving time in 1609 at the age of 34.
Captain Archer was buried with the leading staff, an arrow-tipped
staff that he used, enabling the team to identify him. Archer was
also buried with a small silver box, known as a
reliquary, containing bone fragments and pieces of a lead
container for holding holy water atop his coffin. The artifact
suggests he may have secretly clung to his Catholic faith.

The last man of the group was Reverend Robert Hunt. Unlike the
more affluent men, he was buried in a simple shroud, facing west,
toward the congregation he headed. Hunt died in 1608 around the
age of 39.

Lost to history

The research team may do further analysis to confirm the men's
identities. The bodies were poorly preserved, but it may be
possible to extract some usable DNA from the remains, Owsley
said.